THE CONVERSATION: Business Must Drive the Social Debate over Climate Change

The New York Times posted an article today entitled Industry Awakens to the Threat of Climate Change, describing how Coke, Nike, the World Bank and even the tycoons in Davos are looking at the physical impacts of climate change as a business risk with real dollars attached to them in the form of lost resources (i.e. water and agricultural products), disrupted supply chains (due to extreme weather) and other material issues. To my mind, this is the kind of news, and the only kind of news, that will shift the public debate over climate change. Scientists can talk until they are blue in the face about the models and reams of data behind them that point to the reality of human-induced climate change. But until it costs us money, a vast number of people will not take it seriously. They will still ask, “Do you really believe that theory?”

About UMEI

The University of Michigan Energy Institute extends a rich tradition of energy research at U-M. Established in 2006, it builds on the legacy of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project. The Phoenix Project was launched in 1948 to engage in research and other activities that support the peaceful uses of atomic energy as a “living memorial” for the members of the University of Michigan community who gave their lives in World War II.